News

Taylor & Boody Organ in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel.

Four artists—Ann Hobson Pilot, harpist; Carol Lieberman, violinist; Michael Calmès, tenor; and James David Christie, organist— will collaborate for a performance as part of the Holy Cross Chapel Artists Series on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel.  The performance is free, open to the public, and handicap accessible. 

The program will include 19th – and 20th- century French music for harp, violin, tenor and organ and compositions by Büsser, Tournemire, Saint-Saëns, Grandjany, Langlais, Alain and Franck. 

The concert will be dedicated to the late Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., the longest serving president of the College.  “Father Brooks was responsible for the installation of the monumental Taylor & Boody organ in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel,” says Christie, distinguished artist-in-residence and College organist. “The arts flourished at Holy Cross under his presidency.”

Fr. Brooks commissioned the College’s award-winning Taylor and Boody Organ, designed in the tradition of 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and north German organs, which was completed and dedicated in 1985. The Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J. Concert Hall was named for him, and the full-tuition Brooks Music Scholarship was established in his honor.

About the performers:

Ann Hobson Pilot: After 40 years with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Pops Orchestra, the  legendary principal harpist retired at the end of the Tanglewood 2009 season.  She has an extensive career as both a soloist and recording artist and holds honorary doctorates from Bridgewater State College and Tufts University.  She is the recipient of the 1993 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Cleveland institute of Music and the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Boston Musicians’ Association.  Pilot serves on the faculties of Boston University, New England Conservatory, the Tanglewood Music Center and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
 
Carol Lieberman: An associate professor of music at College of the Holy Cross and the co-director of the Holy Cross Chamber Players, she is recognized as one of America’s leading exponents of Baroque violin performance and violin repertoire from the 19th to the 21st centuries.  She has performed and recorded extensively.  She frequently lectures on violin performance practice, including vibrato and bow technique.  She has given master classes in Poland, Israel, France and England and recently gave a lecture-recital titled “Vibrato in the Franco-Belgian School from G. B. Viotti to E. Ysaye” in La Spezia, Italy.

Michael Calmès: Since making his debut in 1982 with the Boston Lyric Opera Company in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Calmès has been acclaimed in operas and operettas from Ariadne auf Naxos to Die Fledermaus.  He has performed throughout North America and Europe and has given many first performances of works by the late Boston composer Daniel Pinkham, who dedicated several works to him. Calmès has achieved a distinguished record of performances and maintains an active schedule of concerts, recitals, oratorio and opera with numerous choruses, orchestras and other ensembles. 
 
James David Christie: Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at College of the Holy Cross since 1984, he is internationally acclaimed as one of the finest organists of his generation. He has performed around the world with symphony orchestras and period instrument ensembles as well as in solo recitals. Christie has served as organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1978 and has performed and recorded with major orchestras and period instrument ensembles internationally. He has served on over 40 international organ competition juries in North America, Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and Japan.

Future performances of the 2012-13 concert series include:

• Sunday, Nov. 4 – Sylvie Mallet and Marie-Louise Langlais, both organ professors at the Paris Conservatory

For more information about any of the performances in the Chapel Artists Series, please call the music department at (508) 793-2296, or visit the department’s website.

Create

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross will exhibit weavings produced by individuals participating in the Saori Weaving Project at Seven Hills Foundation day programs (in Worcester, Mass.) in the Cantor Resource Gallery, located adjacent to the main gallery space beginning on Monday, Oct. 29.  The display will run in conjunction with the second installation of the “Create” exhibit, which showcases artwork produced over the last 20 years at the leading centers for artists with disabilities in the U.S., on view from Monday, Oct. 22 – Dec. 8.  An opening reception for both exhibits will be held on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 4:30 – 6 p.m.

Roger Hankins, director of the Cantor Art Gallery, is pleased to be able to provide an opportunity for local artsits supported by Seven Hills to share their work with the Holy Cross and Worcester communities. “The goal with the Create exhibition and Seven Hills collaboration is to open a dialogue about the potential of every individual, regardless of their ability, to be creatively engaged and to produce work that is worthy of recognition at the highest levels.”

“Create” presents 20 artists, whose work in a variety of mediums and styles, celebrates artistic achievement that has flourished in three pioneering art centers in the San Francisco Bay Area: Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, San Francisco’s Creativity Explored, and the National Institute for Art and Disability (NIAD) Art Center in Richmond.

Seven Hills Foundation, which promotes and encourages the empowerment of people with significant challenges, began the Saori Weaving Project several years ago in its Worcester location.  Participants took classes with Mihoko Wakabayashi, an artist and proprietor of Saori Worcester, and in 2007 the organization became a Saori Pioneer Coaching Site.  Seven Hills purchased their first two unique, accessible and adaptable looms, and three staff members completed the full Saori beginners course to become Saori Coaches.

Seven Hills day program weavers contributed three from a total of 66 banners created for the Saori Bridges of Elm Park project in 2010, sales of which supported scholarships for youth in the neighborhoods surrounding the Saori studio located off Pleasant Street in Worcester.

In the fall of 2011, Seven Hills Family Services (SHFS) Inc. received a grant from the Worcester Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, to expand the Saori weaving opportunities to adults with significant disabilities who are enrolled in the Adult Day Health and Day Habilitation Programs located in Worcester and Devens, Mass.

According to Maribeth Fisher, assistant vice president of Seven Hills Family Services, “the grant resulted in the training of five additional staff coaches to work with individuals in creating beautiful weavings, some of which have been fashioned into functional, wearable or sculptural art.”

Funds from the Worcester Cultural Council also assisted in covering the cost of thread, yarn, bobbins, and the purchase of additional inside sets, in order for individuals to work on independent projects over time.

“The collaboration with the Cantor Art Gallery and the ‘Create’ exhibit was the culmination of many hours of weaving, sewing, planning, serendipity, creativity and community, reflected by the show’s title ‘Community Threads: Seven Hills Saori Weaving Project,’” says Fisher.

Wakabayashi, artist and proprietor of Saori Worcester, teaches Saori to students of all ages and abilities.  She has participated in numerous local events inlcuding the Worcester Center for Crafts shows, stART on the Street, Massachusetts Special Olympics, Worcester’s Asian Festival, First Night Worcester, and First Night Boston.  Her work has been on display in many venues, inlcuding the Arts Worcester Gallery and the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham.

Events

Opening, second installment of ‘Create,’ Monday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Opening, ‘Community Threads: Seven Hills Saori Weaving Project,’ Monday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Opening Reception for both exhibitions, Thursday, Nov. 1, 4:30 – 6 p.m.

Gallery Information

Founded in 1983 through the generosity of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor, the Cantor Art Gallery serves both as a venue for a changing series of historical and contemporary public exhibitions, as well as a vital resource for Holy Cross faculty and students, linking exhibitions to the broader liberal arts curriculum.

The hours for the Cantor Art Gallery are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 2 – 5 p.m. Located in O’Kane Hall, 1st Floor, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610.  Visitors needing assistance with handicap accessibility should call Public Safety at 508-793-2011. Admission to the gallery is free.

For additional information please call 508-793-3356 or visit the Gallery’s website.

Cain

Holy Cross alumna and former Fulbright scholar Kathleen Cain ’81, will give a talk titled “Growing up Muslim in Post-9/11 America: Identity and Well-Being in American Muslim Teenagers,” on Monday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library. Cain’s talk is part of the College’s 40th anniversary celebration of coeducation.

Cain, who graduated from Holy Cross as a psychology major in 1981, currently teaches at Gettysburg College, where she has conducted research on children’s social-cognitive development and has taught many courses in both the psychology department and in the college’s first-year seminar program. As an undergraduate on the Hill, she conducted her honors research with Diane Bukatko, professor of psychology, and was a research assistant for Chick Weiss, director of the Office of Grants and Corporate and Foundation Giving an former chair of the psychology department.

She earned her doctorate in developmental psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has traveled to Berlin, Germany, on a Fulbright grant, where she spent a year at the Max-Planck Institute for Education Research. In 2009, Cain traveled to Cairo, Egypt, as a Fulbright scholar to teach at Ain Shams University.

Cain will speak at two other events on campus. On Oct. 29, she will give a lunchtime talk in the Hogan Campus Center at 12 p.m., where she will discuss her experience as a Fulbright scholar, the process of applying for a Fulbright Grant, and more. Seating for this event is limited, RSVP by emailing Maureen Dubois.

On Oct. 28, Cain will be the keynote speaker for the Psi Chi Ceremony, the psychology department’s induction of new members into its international honor society. The title of this talk will be “From Mount Saint James to Gettysburg by Way of the World: A Psychologist’s Journey.”

Cain’s talk is sponsored by the College’s psychology department, the McFarland Center, Montserrat’s Self Cluster, the Office of Grants and Corporate & Foundation Giving, and the Office of Distinguished Fellowships and Graduate Studies.

Lauren Groff

Lauren Groff, New York Times best-selling novelist and award-winning fiction writer, will give a reading as part of the Working Writers Series on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The event, sponsored by the College’s Creative Writing Program, is free and open to the public.

Groff is the author of three books: “The Monsters of Templeton” (Hyperion Books, 2008), which was a New York Times’ Editors’ Choice selection, “Delicate Edible Birds” (Hyperion Books, 2009), a collection of short stories and “Arcadia” (Voice, 2012), which was released to much critical acclaim. 

“Arcadia,” which takes place in New York State in the 1970s, follows several characters who pursue their dream of founding a commune on the grounds of a dilapidated mansion called Arcadia House. As the romance of the utopian dream of Arcadia wanes and waxes, an only child named Bit must reckon with matters of identity, love and the world beyond. Hailed as “A moving look at the value of human connection in a scary, chaotic world” by Entertainment Weekly, “Arcadia” has also been celebrated as “timeless and vast” by the New York Times.

Groff, who earned her M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. from Amherst College, is the recipient of the Axton Fellowship in Fiction at the University of Louisville, has been shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and has been awarded residencies and fellowships at Yaddo, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Vermont Studio Center and Ragdale. Her short stories, which are widely admired, have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, One Story, Best American Short Stories 2010, and Best New American Voices 2008. 

Groff was born in Cooperstown, New York and now resides in Gainesville, Florida with her husband and two sons.

Student performers practice their lines during dress rehearsal.

The department of theatre at the College of the Holy Cross will present “Machinal” written by Sophie Treadwell and directed by Edward Isser, professor and chair of the theatre department, on Nov.1-3 and 8-10 at 8 p.m. in Fenwick Theatre (located on the second floor of O’Kane Hall). Tickets are $7 for members of the Holy Cross community and $10 for the general public. Group rates are available, and Holy Cross faculty and staff are invited to attend the Nov. 1 performance at no cost. Tickets can be reserved by calling the box office at (508)-793-2496.

“Machinal” is one of the earliest and most important feminist dramas of the 20th century according to Isser. “It is a deeply moving work about a woman who seeks freedom and self-fulfillment in a society that makes the attainment of these goals impossible,” says Isser.

Helen Jones, the play’s protagonist, is trapped in a mind-numbing job and is continually pressured by societal expectations. After pursuing an extramarital affair, she journeys through marriage, motherhood and even murder, offering a frank discussion of female sexuality and patriarchy. “Many issues raised in Treadwell’s drama about the subjugation of women remain disturbingly pertinent today,” says Isser. “Issues of pay equity, the glass ceiling and women’s reproductive and health rights are still debated, almost a century after Treadwell wrote her groundbreaking play.”

The theatre department’s presentation of “Machinal” is a part of the College’s celebration of its 40th anniversary of coeducation. “The goal of bringing women to Holy Cross 40 years ago was intended to empower women to lead fulfilling lives on a commensurate basis with men,” Isser explains. “By mounting this work, we hope to empower women on campus to seize what is rightfully theirs and to raise the consciousness of men who may not be cognizant of these issues.”

Isser, who is the author of the book “Stages of Annihilation: Theatrical Representations of the Holocaust,” and who has directed a dozen Shakespeare productions on campus, in Green Hill Park and at Foothills Theatre, says he looks forward to presenting a play that is both “prescient and revolutionary.”

The play features a cast of 13 undergraduate students, including Erin McMahon ’13 as Helen Jones, Shannon LoCascio ’14 as the Mother, Leo Hernandez ’16 as the Husband and Nick Jorgenson ’16 as the Lover.

Related information

• Holy Cross to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Coeducation
• Theatre department
• Worcester Mag, Oct. 31: Holy Cross celebrates women with “Machinal”

Auxiliary Bishop McElroy

Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy, Archdiocese of San Francisco, will give a free, public lecture titled “Catholicism, Citizenship and Conscience: What Does It Mean to Be a Faith-filled Voter in our Polarized Society?” on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library, Smith Hall at the College of the Holy Cross.

In his talk, Bishop McElroy will explore what it means to vote your conscience and how to affirm Catholic values when they split down political party lines.

“Our party structure has bisected the issues that Catholic theology points to as pivotal and critically important,” McElroy said. “It puts us in a terrible dilemma in choosing how we vote and how we express ourselves. So what do we do? We have to turn to our conscience every time we vote.”

Known for his scholarship, Bishop McElroy holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University, a master’s in divinity from St. Patrick Seminary and University, both a master’s degree in history and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University, and a doctorate in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1980 and ordained as a bishop in 2010.

He is the author of two books, “The Search for an American Public Theology: The Contribution of John Courtney Murray” (Paulist Press, 1989) and “Morality and American Foreign Policy: The Role of Ethics in International Affairs” (Princeton University Press, 1992).

The talk, presented by the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, is one of the Deitchman Family Lectures on Religion and Modernity. To learn more about McFarland Center events and to find lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/mcfarlandcenter.

About the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.

duoJalal

The music department at the College of the Holy Cross will present the following musical performances on campus during fall 2012. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact the music department events line at 508-793-3528.

Special performances include violinist Nicholas Kitchen on Oct. 23, who has been called one of the most active and innovative performers in the music world today.  He is a solo violinist, chamber musician, teacher, video artist, technology innovator and arts administrator. His program will include selections from the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin.

Also, duoJalal on Oct. 25, the husband and wife team of Kathryn Lockwood and Yousif Sheronick, represent an organic amalgam of cultural traditions and musical styles. Lockwood is a classically trained violist from Australia who ignites her instrument with passion; and Sheronick, of Lebanese descent, manipulates sound by simply snapping his fingers at the edge of an Egyptian frame drum or dragging his foot across the Peruvian cajon. From their chamber music foundation, duoJalal moves from Classical to Klezmer, and Middle Eastern to Jazz with ease. The program will also feature “Joy,” by Shirish Korde, professor and chair of the music department at Holy Cross.

Sunday, Sept. 30, 3 p.m.
Francesco Cera, organ, international concert and recording artist
Rome, Italy
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 8 p.m.
Mike Monaghan & Friends
Hogan Campus Center, Room 519

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m.
Nicholas Kitchen, violin
Brooks Concert Hall

Thursday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m.
duoJalal
Brooks Concert Hall

Friday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Choir/Family Weekend
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Friday, Oct. 26. 9:30 p.m.
Jazz Ensemble/Family Weekend
Hogan Crossroads

Saturday, Oct. 27, 3 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra/Family Weekend
Brooks Concert Hall

Sunday, Oct.  28, 3 p.m.
Music for harp, violin and organ featuring Ann Pilot Hobson, harp; Carol Lieberman, violin; and James David Christie, organ
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Sunday, Nov. 4, 3 p.m.
Sylvie Mallet, organ
Marie-Louise Langlais, organ
Professors of organ: Paris Conservatory (CRR)
Paris, France
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Sunday, Nov. 11, 5 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Singers
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Players featuring Carol Lieberman, violin; Mark Kroll, harpsichord; Jan Muller-Szeraws, cello; and Randall Hodgkinson, piano
Brooks Concert Hall

Tuesday, Dec. 4, 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert
Brooks Concert Hall

Thursday, Dec. 6, 8 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols featuring the Holy Cross College Choir
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Friday, Dec. 7, 8 p.m.
Gamelan Concert
Brooks Concert Hall